January 13, Hailong Building.
Lu Fei could put everything else aside and elevate Friedman's interview to the highest priority.
The two of them stayed in the office, with Dawei acting as translator and Tao Yao taking notes. They sat and talked for two or three hours, talking.
The recorded concert was sent without reservation to Xu Lei, Liu Edong, Wang Huiwen and other senior executives of Feigou.com, and the Penguin Ma Bandit Tongzi Gang also had a share.
It is equivalent to opening a small stove and serving as a high-level strategic study meeting.
Sometimes it’s “globalization”, sometimes it’s “the world is flat”, sometimes it’s “the next 10 years”…
Friedman is from an American perspective, and Lu Fei is definitely from a Chinese perspective.
From the world "sold to China" to "made in China", to "Created in China", and even the "Chinese Dream".
"Chinese Dream?" Friedman raised an eyebrow.
"You Americans have the American dream, and of course we also have our own Chinese dream."
Lu Fei couldn't help himself and changed the slogan of the Yanjing Olympic Games to "One World, One Dream."
"I like that." Friedman grinned.
"Then you will like it very, very much."
"LOL, really?"
"Father~"
The two of them laughed together. After laughing, Lu Fei was at full strength, and new and unheard of words came out of his mouth.
Friedman's face gradually became serious, and he did not dare to take any slack in writing down, and asked what is blockchain, Internet of Things, virtual currency...
Lu Fei crossed his legs and said, "I will only say this once, listen clearly, explain in simple terms, and occasionally be humorous to liven up the atmosphere."
Before I knew it, an hour and a half passed.
"Lu, I think we'll come here first today."
Friedman took the initiative to interrupt the conversation, just like a person who is full and stops eating. A few simple words contain a huge amount of information, which is not easy to digest and absorb.
"ok."
Lu Fei stood up excitedly and invited him to co-write again.
"Lu, you can definitely write a book by yourself. You have the ability."
Friedman was convinced by the abundant practical information.
"Thomas, what I want is 'Chinese and Western'."
Lu Fei narrowed his eyes. Friedman's reputation and connections in the American media and publishing circles are very useful. At least he can establish himself in the American circle. Just like he published a book with Lu Xun, he can brag about it. A wave————
Zhou Shuren: These are all my words!
Lu Fei: Nonsense, it was obviously Lu Xun and I who talked about it.
…………
It was hard to refuse such hospitality. When Friedman agreed, he smiled from ear to ear. After all, he had a premonition that "The World is Flat" would be a global bestseller.
Even if the guarantee is not complete, you can rely on this book to become a "master of globalization".
So full of passion and enthusiasm, I stepped on the accelerator and reached 180 yards, driving on a smooth road.
As long as he tells what he has seen and heard about outsourcing, supply chain, open source code, etc., Lu Fei can immediately draw conclusions from these observations.
Sometimes the war is unexpected, sometimes the war is fearful, both sides are integrated, and strategic strikes are carried out.
The two of them are like one giving arguments and the other looking for arguments. Lu Feiqiang is strong in perspective, and information collection is Friedman's strong point. They are simply two swords.
I was full of ideas, and I wrote quickly and eloquently. Based on Lu Fei's 80,000-word draft, I spent 7 days writing 230,000 words, until I wrote "Chapter 13: How the Company Deals with Flattening."
Compared with the original version, it has a lot more Chinese elements.
Especially when it comes to online shopping, you must talk about flying shopping. When it comes to the Internet, you must talk about Penguin.
"Lu, I will write the remaining 100,000 words as soon as I return to the United States. I will try to contact the publisher within two or three months."
Friedman was 100% sure that it would be published, "I would like to ask you to write a letter of authorization authorizing me to help you negotiate publishing matters."
"no problem."
Lu Fei readily agreed that Friedman would write and publish the English version, and he would be responsible for the Chinese version.
In short, the royalties are divided 50-50.
According to Friedman, in the United States, writers generally get royalties, ranging from 11% to 15% of the ex-factory price, and he can get the highest level, 15%.
In a previous life, "The World Is Flat" sold tens of millions of copies, costing thirty or forty US dollars per copy. Lu Fei could earn more than 20 million in overseas royalties alone, and it was a hell of a lot of money.
But money comes second. He never intended to make money from the beginning, just like Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History", which did not expect to deceive the United States.
………
America, The New York Times Building.
After being jet-lagged at home, Friedman couldn't wait to run over to his boss, Arthur Sulzberger, and give an overview of what he had seen and heard in China. Two and a half of the three sentences were inseparable from Lu Fei.
When he heard that the two were betting on Amazon, Sulzberger was both surprised and helpless:
"Thomas, you lose."
"I lost, why?" Friedman was puzzled.
"Amazon announced its financial report for the first quarter of 2002 yesterday, announcing a profit of US$5 million."
"What?!"
Friedman was startled. Not even a month after Lu Fei said it, Amazon made a profit for the first time. Isn’t this amazing?
"He-->>
[Reading updates are slow to load, there are ads, and chapters are incomplete. Please exit Reading and read again! 】
In addition to predicting that Amazon will get out of the crisis and return to normal, it also said that the Internet winter will end in 2003, and US stocks will rebound. "
"Yeah?"
Sulzberger felt it was interesting, so he took over the first 13 chapters of "The World is Flat" and after reading about the first 5 chapters, he immediately judged that there was a huge market for it.
"Can you make the decision about this book?"
"Of course, I got Lu's authorization, but the copyright scope is limited to Europe and the United States." Friedman took out the authorization letter.
"that's enough!"
Sulzberger smiled and said: "You are co-authoring a book, who is the first editor, him or you?"
"Of course it's him. Without him, I couldn't write this book. Without me, he can still write it."
In Friedman's position, he didn't bother to steal achievements, not to mention that after rounds of discussions, it was hard not to be impressed by Lu Fei.
"The market for books written by Chinese people is very small in Europe and the United States. Although you are the second editor and have guaranteed sales, if you can sell them better, why not sell them?"
Sulzberger showed the face of a businessman and wanted Friedman to be the first editor-in-chief. He was planning very well!
"We have signed a contract, and the licensing agreement also says so."
Friedman shook his head, "Believe me, Arthur, Lu's future achievements are unimaginable. We must be good friends, not enemies."
"All right."
Sulzberger touched his chin and made another move, "Then before you finish writing and before it is published, we have to find a way to make Lu's name famous, but we can't make any big moves. He is still a nobody."
Friedman laughed and said, "Lu has a good idea."
………
Seattle, Amazon headquarters.
"Mackenzie, look at this!"
Jeff Bezos handed the New York Times to his wife, with an exaggerated smile on his chubby face, feeling proud and satisfied.
"Wow, great news."
Mackenzie took a look and saw a big headline in the newspaper, "Amazon gave everyone a surprise: It made a profit for the first time."
"But one thing I'm very unhappy about is that it says that Amazon's profitability is due to China's accession to the WTO. In fact, what does it have to do with it?"
Jeff Bezos touched his chin and said, "It's my hard work."
"The New York Times always likes to stir up trouble."
Mackenzie flipped through the newspaper and found the much-anticipated column, the international affairs section written by Friedman.
What caught my eye was "Imaginary China's First Year After Joining the WTO".
"...The United States, Germany, and Neon all once played similar roles as manufacturing centers. Now, in the era of globalization, a new division of labor and outsourcing pattern has been formed, and the world's factory will appear in China.
This will benefit America!
Maybe it won't be long before even Chinese people come to the United States to travel and shop, and almost all the souvenirs they buy back are 'Made in China'. "
Mackenzie read the entire paragraph almost laughing.
Jeff Bezos laughed, then slowly stopped and was silent for a while.
"What's wrong, honey?" Mackenzie asked confused.
"This Feigou.com developed a few years later than us, and in such a backward environment, it can have a valuation of US$1 billion, one-fifth of Amazon."
Jeff Bezos pointed to a small paragraph in the article, "Although Amazon's current profits do not rely on China, its future profits must have the Chinese market."
Similar words were also spread in the eBay CEO office. new
Meg Whitman had a straight face, and the New York Times on the table was slightly wrinkled, as if it had been crumpled.
When she saw the column boasting that "Feigou.com helps China's online retail market prosper," she became angry. She couldn't help but think of the bad day of the negotiation——
I took a tumble!
With this fall, eBay's stock price fell by 0.4%.
Although Feigou's stock price was not affected by the battle with eBay, it suffered a setback when it first entered China. eBay's share of C2C e-commerce has dropped to 40%.
If we fall again, we will also fall in China.
Meg Whitman immediately ordered Matt remotely to urge Shao Yibo to make a turnaround in the spring and fight back against Feigou.
The market in China must be fought for!
The New York Times reported on the impact of China's entry into the WTO on the world trade pattern. Two days after the report, more and more American brands and companies are considering either building factories in China or entering the market.
Microsoft is the latter.
Dong Dong Dong, Xiong Minghua knocked on the door and entered.
"Steve, are you looking for me?"
"Xiong, your option is about to expire, and you haven't thought about how to exercise it?
Ballmer smiled and said: "The company has a repurchase plan and can purchase it at a price slightly higher than the market price."
"I'm still considering. If I sell, I will consider resigning and retiring, or returning to China to start a business."
"Going back to China?"
"Yes, China has great market potential. You should also read the article "Imagining the First Year of China's Entry into the WTO"."
"certainly!"
Ballmer's silly smile showed shrewdness, "I just saw it, so I want you to consider whether you are willing to go to China to open up the Microsoft market?"
"What should we do?" Xiong Minghua couldn't help but wonder.
